Clothes drier with collapsible supports



April 22;1947. v A. L. PALMER 2,419,226

CLOTHES DRIER WITH COLLAPSIBLE SUPPORTS n Filed SepE. 27, 1941Sheets-Sheet 1 gay INVENTOR nn L. 'PALMER ATT EY5 April 22, 1947; A. L.PALMER CLOTHES DRIER WITH, GOLLAPSIBLE SUPPORTS 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 FiledSept. 27, 1941 IINVENTOR ALVA LL PALMER ATT April 22, 1947. A. PALMER2,419,226

CLOTHES DRIER WITH COLLAPSIBLE SUPPORTS Filed Sept. 27, 1941 3Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR.

Patented Apr. 22, 1947 CLOTHES DRIER WITH COLLAPSIBLE SUPPORTS Alva L.Palmer, Bayside, N. Y.

Application September 27, 1941, Serial No. 412,613

Claims. 1

This invention relates to cookstoves and specifically to a cookstoveclothes drier.

In general, it is an object of the invention to provide a device of thecharacter described, which will efiiciently perform the purposes forwhich it is intended, which is simple and economical of construction,which can be expeditiously, conveniently and safely manipulated, andwhich can be readily manufactured and assembled.

Another object of the invention is to provide a motor, in the form of acookstove, for moving large volumes of air whereby the entrained air,

to some extent in addition to the heat from the cookstove, dries clothesplaced in the path of such air; to provide instrumentalities which maybe removable from and/or operable on such stove for facilitating suchoperation of the stove; to provide a drier which is of such a shape thatit can be placed in the very limited space of the modern small kitchenand particularly may be placed in what is now the only space in such amodern kitchen and can make eflicient use of that space; to provide adrier which uses as its fan an element already present in all kitchens;to provide a drier which needs no independent heating element other thanone already in any kitchen; to provide a drier which includes acookstove which may be used for cooking while the clothes are beingdried; to provide a device which 7 creates large volumes of mildlyheated air from a relatively high temperature source and which thereforeoperates at high speed without exposing fabrics to excessivetemperatures; to provide a drier in which the air currents arecontrolled to obtain optimum drying; and to provide such a drier whichmay be quickly and easily assembled and disassembled.

Other objects of the invention will in part be obvious and will in partappear hereinafter.

The invention accordingly comprises an article of manufacture possessingthe features, properties, and the relation of elements which will beexemplified in the article hereinafter described and the scope of theapplication of which will be indicated in the claims.

For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention,reference should be had to the following detailed description taken inconnection with the accompanying drawings, in

which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a device embodying one form of theinvention;

Fig. 2 is a cross-section, as viewed from the side, of the device shownin Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a front view in elevation of a modification of the deviceshown in Fig. 1; and

Fig. 4 is a side view of the device shown in Fig. 3. I

Advances have been made heretofore in the art of cookstoves and ranges.They have had principally to do with increasing the efiiciency of thefuel or the efficiency of the use of the fuel or of the obtaining of theheat therefrom. The present invention contemplates a cookstove structurewhich extends the use thereof. It utilizes space which, at least in gasranges, has rarely if ever been made useful-a space which is almost thelast still to be vacant in kitchens. This is. the space extendingvertically from the top of the stove.

There are clothes racks made which hang from the ceiling or stand on thefloor. They tend to be unsightly and in the way.

The device below, comprises a motor for moving large quantities ofmildly heated air past the clothes. That motor is the stove. The heatingunits, when operating, send up columns of prodnets of combustions. Thesecolumns draw in large amounts of air. A perforated bafile is provided inthe path of the columns to spread them evenly over the complete area ofthe baffie. A multiplicity of columns rise through the perforations ofthe baffle. These rising columns entrain still further quantities ofroom air which mixes with those rising columns to give a final largetotal volume of mildly heated air which, rising, moves past articles ofany kind-herein termed clothes-which are held on the supports.

In the drawing, ill denotes a cookstove which may be of any suitablekind, which has heating units E2 on the top. Positioned and spaced abovethe heating units is a baffle I l. Above the baflle are clothes-supportsl6. Ihere may be a guard l8 positioned between the bafile and theclothessupports to catch any article which falls from a clothes-supportto prevent itfrom falling directly onto the hot baffie. Means areprovided for holding, and preferably removably holding, the balilesupports and guard above the stove. Such means may take the form of acasing 2B. The latter, if desired, may be constructed like a cabinet,with doors which may be shut to enclose the beforementioned partstherein when they are not in use. The casing 25] is positioned above theback of the cookstove, which latter preferably is a gas stove and isusually so constructed that the container may be placed above the backof the stove without interfering with the use of the stove for cooking.

The baflie may be attached to the casing 2'!) in any convenient fashion,so that it lies, when in operative position, above the heating units ofthe stove. It may be pivoted to the casing, as at 22, so that it may beswung, when not in use, into a vertical, inoperative position in thecasing (see Fig. 2). Various means may be used to hold the bafiie inoperative position. For example, there may be lugs 24 attached to theinside of casing doors 26 near the bottom thereof, so that when thedoors are opened, the bailie may be swung down to rest on the lugs. Asshown, the guard I8 is positioned at a considerable height above itsnormal position above the baffle and supported on lugs 28 attached atthe insides of the doors. This position, shown for clarity in Figs. 1and is that used when delicate articles are placed directly upon theguard for drying. Normally, the guard is removably attached to thebafile and is disposed closely above it. Apron 32' may depend from thefront of the guard to hide the baflle from view. This apron may behinged to swing around to lie fiat against the guard when the latter isin upright, inoperative position. In some instances a better control ofair flow is obtained by having the apron stand upright above the guard.There are vertical skirts 33 depending from each end of the bafile whichkeep the hot columns of air from escaping out past the ends of thebafile.

The clothes-supports may be of any desired kind and shape; those shownare a plurality of narrow elements 34 which are rotatable upon ahorizontal axle 36. Catches 38, or other fixing means, are provided tohold the supports so that they extend horizontally outward when they arein supporting position. 1

A plurality of openings which preferably take the shape of slots 40extend preferably from side to side of the bafile. The forward slots maybe wider. Other shapes may be used. Plates 42 may be used to giveadditional control to the heat and drafts provided by the one or moreheating units of the cookstove. These plates are movable over thesurface of the baffie, and ordinarily are positioned substantiallydirectly above the heating units.

The essential elements of the device are the stove heaters, orequivalent devices for giving a flow of heated air, the baflle and theclothes-supports. It will be noted that there is no cover extending overthe supports when'they are in raised position. Such a cover is notnecessary, although it may be provided for other purposes. The casingdoors, when they extend out over the stove, are used principally assupports for the bafile and guard. It has been found that, with certainforms of the present device, better control of the upward moving air maybe obtained by providing additional room air at the rear of the baffle.There may be an opening 44 in the bottom of the casing for this purpose.A screen element 45 may be placed in that opening if desired.

When the heating units are turned on, even slightly, there is a largemovement of air upward through the bafiie and the guard and past theclothes-supports. Additional volumes of air are drawn into theclothes-drying space above the baflle. The drying is induced through themovement of large volumes of moderately heated air.

These volumes of air, furthermore, have sufiicient current to causemotion of suspended .clothes, which is advantageous in that it tendsto'leave the dried fabrics soft and pliable. The position of the bafilemay be sufiiciently high above the heating units of the cookstove topermit the latter to function as drier elements simultaneously with thecooking of foods.

In Figs. 3 and 4 there is shown a modification of the device describedabove. The device in Figs. 3 and 4 includes a baflie I4 which sits onthe stove H3 in any convenient fashion. It may have collapsable legs 58of sufficient length to permit cooking vessels to sit on theheating'units under the baiile. The clothes-supports, preferablyremovable, may be of any desired form. Those shown in Figs. 3 and 4 areattached to a plate 54 and extend radially therefrom. They are alsopivoted to the plate, as at 56, whereby they may be caused either to lievertically in the casing 20 or to extend outwardly from the casing overthe heatin units, baflie and guard. Any convenient means, not shown, maybe used to secure the supports in operative position. The plate 54.

is provided with extensions 58, which ride in the side of the casing. Acord 56, which may be tied on element 62, passes over pulley 64 and isused to move the plate and attached supports up and down in the casingto give the supports any desired height above the top of the cookstove.When the device is not in operation, the supports may be lowered intothe casing 213. The bafile and guard may be stored in a utilitycompartment or oven of the stove. The legs for the baflie may beattached to trunnions on the stove, so that the bafie, when not in use,may be swung down to a position behind the stove or into a compartmentat the rear of the stove.

The drier described herein, comprising the stove, bafile and thesupports, allows the use of heat which would otherwise go to waste butwhich is made available by the arrangement of parts described above as amotor for blowing air against the clothes to be dried. The operation ofthe device is rapid, and does not interfere with the other functions ofthe heating units. The entire combination may be quickly disassembled,so that the supports and baille may be removed or they may be left as inFig. 2, in the vacant space above the back of the stove.

The term air herein includes air which may or may not have mixed with itproducts of combustion.

Since certain changes may be made in the above article and difierentembodiments of the invention could be made without departing from thescope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the abovedescription or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpretedas illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended tocover all of the generic and specific features of the invention hereindescribed, and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as amatter of language, might be said to fall therebetween.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A clothes drier comprising, in combination with a heating devicehaving localized heating units associated with the top thereof eachadapted to give a rapidly rising column of high temperature gaseousmedium of a relatively small cross-sectional area as compared to thearea of the top of said device for entrainment of relatively largequantities of room air, of aconcealing cabinet supported at the back ofsaid device with the front thereof located behind a vertical planesubstantially to the rear of said units, door means for closing thefront of said cabinet, a

tially throughout the area defined by said baffie thereabove, meansremovably supporting said baffle in such position above said units,exposed clothes-supports positioned above said baflie defining togetherwith said baflie the cross section of a column of space extendingupwardly from said baffle past said supports in front of said cabinet,the column of space between said bafile and said clothes-supports on atleast two opposed sides thereof being substantially free of definitionby any wall structure and having substantially free communication withroom air on at least those two opposed sides for free entrainmentthereof and the column of space above said clothes-support beingsubstantially completely unobstructed, and means removably supportingsaid clothes-supports from said cabinet in such positions above saidbafiie while permitting them to be folded up into said cabinet forconcealment behind said door means when not in use.

2. A clothes drier comprising, in combination with a heating devicehaving localized heating units associated with the top thereof eachadapted to give a rapidly rising column of high ternperature gaseousmedium of a relatively small cross-sectional area as compared to thearea of the top of said device for entrainment of relatively largequantities of room air, of a concealing cabinet supported at the back ofsaid device with the front thereof located behind a vertical planesubstantially to the rear of said units, door means for closing thefront of said cab-inet, a perforated bafile of appreciable areapositioned subsubstantially to the rear of said units, door means forclosing the front of said cabinet, a perforated baflie of appreciablearea positioned substantially horizontally at an appreciable distanceabove said units and covering the same to give in operation asubstantially uniform flow of gaseous medium including entrained airsubstantially throughout the area defined by said bafile thereabove,means removably supporting said bafile in such position above saidunits, exposed clothes-supports positioned abovesaid bafiie definingtogether with said baffle the cross section of a column of spaceextending upwardly fromsaid stantially horizontally at an appreciabledistance above said units and covering the same to give in operation asubstantially uniform flow of gaseous medium including entrained airsubstantially throughout the area defined by said baffle thereabove,means removably supporting said baffle in such position above saidunits, exposed clothessupports positioned above said baiiie definingtogether with said bafiie the cross section of a column of spaceextending upwardly from said b-aflie past said supports in front of saidcabinet, the column of space between said baflie and saidclothes-supports on at least the front and back sides thereof beingsubstantially free of definition by any wall structure and havingsubstantially free communication with room air on at least the frontside with the back side thereof having free communication with room airthrough a space to the rear of said baffle for free entrainment of roomair and the column of space above .said clothes-support beingsubstantially completely unobstructed, and means removably supportingsaid clothes-supports from. said cabinet in such positions above saidbafile while permitting them to be folded up into said cabinet forconcealment behind said door means when not in use.

3. A clothes drier comprising, in combination with a heating devicehaving localized heating units associated with the top thereof eachadapted to give a rapidly rising column'of high temperature gaseousmedium of a relatively small cross-sectional area as compared to thearea of the top of said device for entrainment of relatively largequantities of room air, of a concealing cabinet supported atthe back ofsaid device with the front thereof located behind a vertical planebafile past said supports in front of said cabinet, the column of spacebetween said baiile and said clothes-supports on at least the front andback sides thereof being substantially free of definition by any wallstructure and having substantially free communication with room air onat least the front side with the back side thereof having freecommunication with room air through a space to the rear of said bafflefor free entrainment of room air and the column of space above saidclothes-sup port being substantially completely unobstructed, thecommunicating space being provided by an opening in the bottom of saidcabinet, and means removably supporting said clothes-supports from saidcabinet in such positions above said baffle while permitting themto befolded up into said cabinet for concealment behind said door means whennot in use. i

4. A clothes drier comprising, in combination with a heating devicehaving localized heating units associated with the top thereof eachadapted to give a rapidly rising column of high temperature gaseousmedium of a relatively small cross-sectional area as compared to thearea of the top of said device for entrainment of relatively largequantities of room air, of a concealing cabinet supported at the back ofsaid device with the front thereof located behind a vertical plane inoperation 'a substantially uniform flow of gaseous medium includingentrained air substantially throughout the area defined b said baiiiethereabove, means removably supporting said bafile from said cabinet insuch position above said units while permitting it to be folded up intosaid cabinet for concealment behind said door means when not in use,exposed clothessupports positioned above said baflie defining togetherwith said baflie the cross section of a column of space extendingupwardly from said bailie past said supports in front of said cabinet,the column of space between said baffle and said clothes-supports on atleast two opposed sides thereof being substantially free of definitionby any wall structure and having substantially free communication withroom air on at least those two opposed sides for free entrainmentthereof and the column of space above said clothes-support beingsubstantially completely unobstructed, and means removably supportingsaid clothessupports from said cabinet in such positions above saidbaffle while permitting them to be folded up into said cabinet forconcealment behind said door means when not in use.

5. A clothes drier comprising, in combination with a heating devicehaving localized heating units associated with the top thereof eachadapted to give a'rapidly rising column of high temperature gaseousmedium of a relatively small cross-sectional area as compared to thearea of the top of said device for entrainment of relatively largequantities of room air, of a concealing cabinet supported at the back ofsaid device with the front thereof located behind a vertical planesubstantially to the rear of said units, door means for closing thefront of said cabinet, a perforated baflie of appreciable areapositioned substantially horizontally at an apprecibale distance abovesaid units and covering the same to give in operation a substantiallyuniform flow of gaseous medium including entrained air substantiallythroughout the area defined by said bafiie thereabove, means removablysupporting said baflle from said cabinet in such position above saidunits while permitting it to be folded up into said cabinet forconcealment behind said door means when not in use, exposedclothes-supports positioned above said bafile defining together withsaid baffle the cross section of a column of space extending upwardlyfrom said baffle past said supports in front of said cabinet, the columnof space between said ballle and said clothes-supports on at least thefront and back sides thereof being substantially free of definitionby'any wall structure and having substantially free communication withroom' air on at least the front side with the back side thereof havingfree communication with room air through a space to the rear of saidbaffle for free entrainment of room air and the column of space abovesaid clothes-supports being substantially completely unobstructed, the

communicating space being provided by an opening in the bottom of saidcabinet, and means removably supporting said clothes-supports from saidcabinet in such positions above said baflle while permitting them to befolded up into' said cabinet for concealment behind said door meansfront thereof located behind a vertical plane substantially to the rearof said units, said cabinet having a relatively large opening in thebottom thereof, a pair of doors each hinged to said cabinetsubstantially at an end thereof to cooperate in closing the front of thecabinet, said doors projecting forward in substantially parallelrelation to define a column of space therebetween above said units infront of said cabinet which is substantially completely unobstructedthereabove and exposed at the front side thereof, a perforated baffle ofappreciable area positioned substantially horizontally at an appreciabledistance above said units'in the column of space defined thereabove bysaid doors to give in operation a substantially uniform fiow of gaseousmedium including entrained air substantially throughout the area definedby said baffle, means removably supporting said bafile on said cabinetin such position between said doors permitting it to be folded up intosaid cabinet for concealment behind said doors when not in use, the rearof said bafiie beingspaced forwardly from the back wall of said cabinetfor free communication between room air and the column of space throughthe opening in the bottom of said cabinet, exposed clothes-supportspositioned above said baffie into the column of space between saiddoors, and means removably supporting said clothes-supports from saidcabinet in such positions above said baflie while permitting them to befolded up into said cabinet for concealment. behind said doors when notin use.

7. A clothes drier comprising, in combination with a heating devicehaving localized heating units associated with the top thereof eachadapted to give a rapidly rising column of high temperature gaseousmedium of a relatively small cross-sectional area as compared to thearea of the top of said device for entrainment of relatively largequantities of room air, of a concealing cabinet supported at the back ofsaid device with the front thereof located behind a vertical planesubstantially to the rear of said units, said cabinet having arelatively large opening in the bottom thereof, a pair of doors eachhinged to said cabinet substantially at an end thereof to cooperate inclosing the front of the cabinet, said doors projecting forward insubstantially parallel relation to define a column of space therebetweenabove said units in front of said cabinet which is substantiallycompletely unobstructed thereabove and exposed at the front sidethereof, a, perforated baiile of appreciable area positionedsubstantially horizontally at an appreciable distance above said unitsin the column of space defined thereabove by said doors to give inoperation a substantially uniform flow of gaseous medium includingentrained air substantially throughout the area defined by said baffle,means removably supporting said baffle on said cabinet in such positionbetween said doors permitting it to be folded up into said cabinet forconcealment behind said doors when not in use, said means includingelements mounted on said doors for at least in part supporting saidbaflie in such position, the rear of said baffie being spaced forwardlyfrom the back wall of said cabinet for free communication between roomair and the column of space through the opening in the bottom of saidcabinet, exposed clothes-supports positioned above said baiiie into thecolumn of space between said doors, and means removably supporting saidclothes-supports from within said cabinet in such positions above saidbaffle while permitting them to be folded up into said cabinet forconcealment behind said doors when not in use.

8. A clothes drier comprising, in combination with a heating devicehaving localized heating units associated with the top thereof eachadapted to give a rapidly rising column of high temperature gaseousmedium of a relatively small cross-sectional area as compared to thearea of the top of said device for entrainment of relatively largequantities of room air, of a concealing cabinet supported at the back ofsaid device with the front thereof located behind a vertical planesubstantially to the rear of said units, said cabinet having arelatively large opening in the bottom thereof, a pair of doors eachhinged to said cabinet substantially at an end thereof to cooperate inclosing the front of the cabinet, said doors projecting forward insubstantially parallel relation to define a column of space therebetweenabove said units in front of said cabinet which is substantiallycompletely unobstructed thereabove and exposed at the front sidethereof, a perforated baiile of appreciable area positionedsubstantially horizontally at an appreciable distance above said unitsin the column of space defin t er ab v by e ddg r iq i e n ope a i n asubstantially uniform flow of gaseous medium including entrained airsubstantially throughout the area defined by said bafiie, meanspivotally mounting the rear of said bafile Within said cabinet in spacedrelation with respect to the back wall of said cabinet for freecommunication between room air and the column of space through theopening in the bottom of the cabinet, means on said doors limitingdownward swinging movement of said bafile and cooperating with saidpivot means in support of said baffle in such operative position, saidbalile being adapted to be swung upwardly into said cabinet forconcealment behind said doors when not in use, exposed clothes-supportspositioned above said baffle into the column of space between saiddoors, means pivotally mounting the rear portions of saidclothes-supports in such operative positions adapted to release thelatter to permit them to be swung downwardly into said cabinet forconcealment behind said doors when not in use.

9. A clothes drier comprising, in combination, a cabinet having a pairof substantially medially meeting doors each substantially verticallyhinged thereto along its edge nearest an end of the cabinet to close thefront of the latter, said cabinet having a relatively large opening inthe bottom thereof and being adapted to be supported above a cook stOVehaving a plurality of localized heating units with the closed front ofthe former located behind a vertical plane substantially to the rear ofthe units, said doors when swung open being adapted to project forwardin substantially parallel relation to define therebetween above theheating units a column of space which will be substantially completelyunobstructed there above and exposed at the front side thereof, aperforated baflle of arTpreciable area removably concealed behind saiddoors to be moved outwardly between the latter transversely to extendsubstantially across the column of space to be defined by the opendoors, means removably to support said baflle from said cabinet in suchposition between said doors and above the heating units with the rear ofsaid bafile spaced forwardly from the back of said cabinet to permitfree communication between room air and the column of space through theopening in the bottom of said cabinet, clothes-supports removablyconcealed behind said doors, and means removably to support saidclothes-supports in the column of space above said baffle between saiddoors when the latter are opened and said baflle is supportedtherebetween.

10. A clothes drier comprising, in combination, a cabinet having a pairof substantially medially meeting doors each substantially verticallyhinged thereto along 11,5 edge nearest an end of the cabinet to closethe front of the latter, said cabinet having a relatively large openingin the bottom thereof and being adapted to be supported above a cookstove having a. plurality of 10 localized heating units with the closedfront of the former located behind a vertical plane substantially to therear of the units, said doors when swung open being adapted to projectforward in substantially parallel relation to define therebetween abovethe heating units a column of pace which will be substantiallycompletely unobstructed thereabove and exposed at the front sidethereof, a perforated baflle of appreciable area removably concealedbehind said doors to be moved outwardly between the latter transverselyto extend substantially across the column of space to be defined by theopen doors, means pivotally mounting the rear of said bafile in saidcabinet on a substantially horizontal axis permitting said baffle to beswung out to between said doors when open with, the rear of said balilespaced forwardly from the back of said cabinet for free communicationbetween room air and the column of space through the opening in thebottom of said cabinet to the rear of said bafile, means on said doorswhen open to limit swinging movement of said baflle and to cooperatewith said pivot means in support of said bafiie when swung to itsoperative position, clothes-supports removably concealed behind saiddoors, and means removably to support said clothes-supports in thecolumn of space above said baflie between said doors when the latter areopened and said bafile is supported therebetween.

ALVA L. PALMER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Britain June 28, 1923Britain Mar. 12, 1937 France Apr. 10, 1928 Swiss Aug. 16, 1939 AustraliaAug. 10, 1911 Number Number

